Cairns: Cyclone Niran winds smash Lake Morris Road as council starts clean-up

A ravaged Cairns road is likely to be shut for three weeks after wind and rain caused mass landslips on par with the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi.

A RAVAGED Cairns road is likely to be shut for three weeks as council clean-up crews struggle to keep up with demand after gale-force winds ripped through the region.

Deputy Mayor Terry James said Cairns Regional Council’s disaster management call centre received 610 requests from the community on Tuesday, following about 700 calls on Monday.

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He urged residents to be patient and use the council’s website and app to log any problems.

Cyclone Niran tracking map issued at 10.57am on Tuesday, March 3. PICTURE: BOM

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“The call centre is still packed and people are having trouble getting through,” he said.

“If you’ve got a computer connection, please log your incident on the council’s website and we’ll get to you as soon as possible.

“Council’s works crews are out there doing the main priorities, which are the main roads, the footpaths and the drains.

“They’re working their way through the parks and they’ll get to your area soon, so be patient.

“If you think you’ve been missed for some strange reason please, again, log an incident on council’s website.”

Ergon crews have been hard at work to restore power to thousands of residents across Cairns. Picture: Ergon Energy

The path up to Copperlode Dam, Lake Morris Rd, copped a hiding on Monday before Cyclone Niran was declared.

“That will be closed for quite some time,” Cr James said.

“We’re expecting it could be up to three weeks before we open that road.

“There’s a lot of landslips and trees that have come down.

“It really did cop the full force of those gusts on Monday.

“The damage up there was equivalent to what we saw in Cyclone Yasi.”

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Cr James said recovery crews were chiefly working in the southern parts of Cairns.

“Some of those gusts were up to 100km/h which is essentially the speed of a Category 1 cyclone,” he said.

“There was a lot of tree damage, a lot of trees tangled up in the powerlines.

“That is really a taste of what (is) to come in a minor cyclone.

“If we were to get a Category 3, well that’s a different story.”

He urged residents not to get complacent over the coming days.

“At this stage it’s too far out to make any effect on us, and it is following the predictions of the BOM,” he said.

Originally published as Cairns: Cyclone Niran winds smash Lake Morris Road as council starts clean-up